The nation's main welfare program would be funded for the next nine months under a bill passed Thursday by the House, which also banned recipients from accessing their benefits in strip clubs, liquor stores and casinos.

A voice vote by the House approved the measure. The welfare provision is included in legislation to extend a payroll tax cut, but the separate bill was passed in case it's eliminated from the tax bill. Without the legislation, the welfare program would halt at midnight Dec. 31.